The invention relates to a radiation source with lamps for irradiating the inner walls of long hollow cavities with continuous movement of the radiation along the axis of the cavity, particularly for curing radiation-curable synthetic resin laminates during the internal restoration of pipes and sewer ducts by means of UV radiation, comprising a chassis having a plurality of lamps arranged on its circumference, whereby the chassis has a central support extending in the direction of the axis, said support being supported on shock absorbing struts against the inner wall of the cavity by means of guide wheels.
A radiation source with said features is known (DE 4205113 C1). In conjunction with said know radiation source, the guide wheels are pivot-mounted on guide rods on the central support extending in the axial direction, whereby perpendicular to said guide rods, the guide wheels are supported on a spring leg or shock absorber. A guide wheel is associated with each lamp plane.
Said known design has the drawback that no simple adaptation to different diameters of the cavity or diameters of the pipeline is possible. Different parts, specifically the support rollers with their bearing blocks rather have to be exchanged and replaced by driving elements permitting a larger or smaller radial spacing between the support and the pipeline. Only one running wheel with a shock absorber is associated with each lamp plane, so that uneven spots on the inner walls of the pipeline are not compensated.
The invention is based on the problem of designing a radiation source of the type specified above in such a way that adaptation of the device to different pipeline diameters is effected by a simple adjustment process without replacing structural components.
Said problem is solved according to the invention in that the chassis has a axial, centrally arranged threaded spindle, and that the guide wheels with a lamp and temperature sensors are mounted on a chassis frame, whereby the one end of the shock-absorbing strut is pivot-mounted on the guide wheel, and the other end on a receiving block running on the threaded spindle.
The dependent claims contain advantageous further developments of the invention.
The invention particularly offers the advantage of variable adaptation of the lamps and wheel spacings in relation to the inner wall of the synthetic resin laminate to be cured, via a central threaded spindle drive that can be operated by hand or electrically. Uneven spots on the surface of the laminate can be easily compensated by using two guide wheels in one lamp plane. In this way, each lamp is tied to the spacing of the laminate as well. Also, two or more equally structured chassis units or lamps per unit can be advantageously arranged one after the other. Each unit comprises a plurality, for example six chassis frames each having one or two lamps, which are offset against each other in the axial direction but preferably arranged at the same level.
By virtue of the embodiment of the radiation source as defined by the invention it is possible to restore with one device pipelines with different nominal diameters, for example of from 200 to 800 mm, in particular from 300 to 550 mm without complicated manipulations.
In conjunction with the arrangement of two or more units or lamps per unit in tandem, the unit located in front in the pulling direction and having a mounted variable number of UVA-lamps is operated with an electrical intensity lower than its rated load. Shifting of the spectrum due to the reduction in intensity is nonexistent. In particular, this has the advantage that the polymerization of the resin and thus the linking of the free molecules takes place at a slightly lower rate, and that the full output is radiated onto the laminate only by the second, directly trailing unit.